


Cold Embrace

by GingerKittyCat



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: this actually isnt sad, woop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-12 09:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1184849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerKittyCat/pseuds/GingerKittyCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Percy could feel the cold embrace of death clinging to him, it's icy fingers draining his life. The air around him was thin, burning his failing lungs with each pain-filled breath. He was slipping away, down to the underworld to be judged. If he was going to die, he hoped that his friends could forgive him for leaving, for failing and for disappearing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cold Embrace

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings fellow demigods and mortals, and Happy Valentine's day! Personally, my valentine is just my books and chocolate, but I couldn't be happier. I started rereading The Lost Hero last night and I'm approximately half-way through. That's pretty slow for me, but I have had school in between and I've been bombarded with ideas. I'll probably get to working on them tonight, though I may not upload them all tonight as not all of them are the happiest. I always seem to come up with more sad ideas than not. Goddammit, if Percico and the like isn't painful enough! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy Valentine's day, whether you have a proper valentine or not.
> 
> Sorry for any and all grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. Correcting them or pointing them out would be very much appreciated. I'm also really sorry if they're out of character at all.

Percy could feel the cold embrace of death clinging to him, it's icy fingers draining his life. The air around him was thin, burning his failing lungs with each pain-filled breath. He was slipping away, down to the underworld to be judged. If he was going to die, he hoped that his friends could forgive him for leaving, for failing and for disappearing.

It was getting harder to stay alive with each gasp for oxygen and Percy's chest was aching with the effort. He wished he could just shut them off and allow himself to slip away immediately, but it wasn't that easy. He was going to feel every last stab of pain, be swallowed by every last wave of guilt and cry out every last tear. 

Weakly, he tilted his head, staring through his bleary eyes at the nearby ocean. The sound of the waves washing to shore sounded so far away, like a distant memory, and he wished he had the energy to drag himself over. If he could get even his fingers over, he may be able to heal his wounds, but he was too tired. He was more than tired; he was exhausted, every spark of energy drained. Percy once again wished he could just die now to end the suffering, but his body was refusing to give in. 

Tears trailed down his face as he thought of Annabeth; he was abandoning her without even saying goodbye when he promised to return. He wished he could hold her one last time, brush her hair behind her ear and tease her for being a 'wise girl.' His heart ached inside his chest, and not from the strain of trying to circulate the blood around his dying limbs. 

Black dots starting forming before his eyes and he was almost positive the loss of blood was finally going to kill him. He hoped he'd pass out and be saved from the pain before he slipped into the underworld, but if he had to, he'd suffer all the way to the end. After all, there was absolutely nothing he could do to save himself. He was helpless, stranded and paralysed, unable to move or aid himself. All he could do was wait for fate to stop punishing him and claim his life. Hades would probably be over the moon to see him after wishing for his death for so long.

Percy's vision turned to black and he could no longer see, but his other senses were working perfectly. That meant that he wasn't yet dead. His chest was heaving with the effort of respiration and his body was shaking furiously. An icy feeling chilled him right down to the bone, leaving no room for the warmth of life to regenerate in him. Everything sounded distant and he could taste nothing but the metallic taste of blood. If he had any energy, he probably would have retched and regurgitated everything inside of him, but he couldn't move a fingertip. 

A strange sensation washed over him, causing all of his senses to dull with confusion as his body was dragged along. Percy's brain raced, trying to figure out what was happening, but an agonising pain shooting through his being was too distracting. It consummated his thought. He would have screamed if it hadn't required so much effort and his throat burned. 

A cold embrace consumed his body as he landed with a splash, freezing liquid soaking his blood-stained skin. His wounds stung as the water greeted them. Energy rushed through his veins again as the freezing sea-water cleaned out his wounds, healing the gashes and cuts that littered his skin. A sickening feeling still lingered in his stomach and, though the stab-wound was becoming less serious by the second, it felt like he'd been punched in the gut, left winded, dumb-founded and out of breath. His lungs were absorbing salt-water, but the effect was calming, soothing the burns and allowing his air to circulate more freely once he coughed it back up once more.

Percy's eyelids fluttered open and he blinked away the blurriness, hoping for his vision to come into focus. It continued to remain distant, but it was better than the blackness that had haunted him for those moments. His hearing returned and the first thing he heard was the roaring of the ocean, possibly reflecting the anger his father felt about his injured son. 

The sea-water completed it's job, bringing a swift halt to the flow of blood, healing Percy's wounds and leaving him alive. He felt dizzy, weak and like he was about to vomit, but definitely alive. He coughed, murmuring about how much his head hurt, but he was strong enough to support him and find somewhere to recover the rest of his strength.

A third cold embrace overwhelmed Percy, but this was one was freezing, colder than the icy water, yet also warm. It was the embrace of a human being, the person who had saved him no doubt. He could feel the person holding him tight to their chest, crying in his hair and trembling furiously. Percy was curious to discover who it was and why they were so cold, though he was grateful beyond measure. Thanks to this person, he would be able to return to his friends and keep his promise to Annabeth by returning.

"I'm okay." Percy wheezed, his voice apparently unprepared for him to speak. He cleared his throat and tried again. This time, he sounded much healthier.

"Percy..." A familiar voice whimpered, though he couldn't place it. He'd heard it many times before and he knew it belonged to someone he considered a friend, but he couldn't fathom who. Wiggling out of the person's grasp, he blinked rapidly, hoping to clear the remaining blurriness from his eyesight. This time, it worked and the figure came into view. They were ghostly pale, with a freckle-littered nose and dark eyes. Their thick, long hair was plastered to their face and their clothes - a worn, beaten aviator jacket, a skull-printed shirt and skinny jeans - were drenched.

"Nico?" Percy asked, his voice full of surprise. Never in a million years had he expected Nico to care enough for him to safe him. Though the two of them often acted friendly, Percy still believed that Nico hated him. "Why did you save me?" 

"Why do you think?!" 

Good question, Percy thought to himself. He had no idea why Nico would want to save him, no idea why he would care. 

"I don't want you dead, Percy." Nico mumbled and by the tone of his voice, Percy could tell he genuinely meant it. He regarded the younger boy for a moment, wondering what to think.

"I'm sorry I've been such a terrible friend." Percy murmured softly. Nico stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Why is now an appropriate time to voice this?"

"Because you almost lost me and I couldn't have died without you knowing how sorry I really am. I really am sorry Nico and I promise, I swear on the River Styx, that I'll try not to be a bad friend." 

"I hope you can keep it." Nico said softly, locking eyes with the older demigod. Then he frowned. "Now get me out of this water; I'm soaked!"

**Author's Note:**

> Oh looky, it wasn't sad and Percy didn't die. Yay ^_^


End file.
